Evaluating the tourism ecological security in rural regions using the DPSIR framework

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Ecology
• Tourism Studies

Background:

• Rapid tourism expansion in Iran poses significant threats to wildlife conservation and environmental protection.
• Rural tourism, while promoted for economic growth, increasingly impacts ecological security, defined as a balance between environment, society, and economy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically evaluate the sustainability of rural tourism and its environmental instability in Iran.
• To assess the impact of tourism growth on ecological security using the DPSIR framework.

Main Methods:

• Employed the Driving, Pressures, State, Impacts, and Responses (DPSIR) framework.
• Utilized Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) on data from 88 villages in Mazandaran County, Iran.

Main Results:

• Tourism growth directly deteriorates the ecological State, driven by environmental Pressures, explaining 50% of variance.
• Governance Responses are inadequate, mitigating only 11% of driving forces and 24% of pressures.
• A significant imbalance exists between economic development drivers and ecological integrity.

Conclusions:

• Current governance frameworks are insufficient to manage tourism's ecological impact.
• Systemic shifts toward integrated, proactive governance are necessary for ecological sustainability.
• Coordinated action and transformative approaches like sustainable rural tourism and agritourism are crucial for rebalancing development and ecological security.